Bleach: Memories
by reckless-chan
Summary: Ichigo and Rukia have both suffered painful memories, but two people with the worst pasts can create the best future. They'll get through the hard times together. But while talking about their pasts, Ichigo realizes that even Rukia Kuchiki has had painful memories troubling her heart. IchiRuki One-shot. ENJOY!


**Disclaimer: ** I DO NOT OWN BLEACH! All characters in this story except for my OC belong to Tite Kubo.

**A/N: **This is a Fanfic I have been working on the past few months for all of you. I have been thinking that this story, you may all enjoy it greatly. Recently, I've been taking a break from my fanfics to catch up on some of the things I've missed. I know lately I haven't been updating, so this is kind of a make-up story for all of the updates I've missed.

For this story, I'd like to thank all of my readers and followers, etc. for helping me make this far in my fanfics. So, I thank you all very much and this story is written and for all of you.

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****_**Memories**_

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The boy with orange hair, Kurosaki Ichigo, sat in front of his mother's grave. With a soft expression on his face, he read the words on the gravestone.

_Kurosaki Masaki  
dearly loved  
mother, wife and friend_

Ichigo's eyes were dark with grief. "Hey mom, sorry I haven't visited you lately. Once the war was over, I had a lot of Shinigami affairs to deal with." He looked at the ground, his lips curved into a small smile. "I finally realized what's important to me. What I want to protect from now on. And it was all thanks to Rukia. She stopped the rain that tortured me for years. After you died, I felt so lonely and had to carry a burden that haunted me forever. That is… That is until I met Rukia…"

He finally brought his head up.

"When Rukia came to save me that night, she gave me the power to protect those that I care about. She gave me hope. I admire her strength. She risked her life to save our family. She changed my whole world. She… She lessened the pain in my heart…"

"_Give me your sword Shinigami." He said, taking the tip of the sword to his chest._

"_It's not 'shinigami', its Kuchiki Rukia" _

"_I'm Kurosaki Ichigo." _

_He pulled the blade in, and a flash of light appeared._

"I don't know what I would do without her, mom."

After a moment of silence, Ichigo heard light footsteps behind him.

"Your sister was right when she said that you'd be here." A voice said from behind.

Ichigo turned his head to see a petite girl with midnight colored hair and bright violet eyes. She wore a light purple dress with a cream colored sweater on top that reflected her perfectly pale skin.

"Oh, Rukia. What are you doing here?" He asked.

"That's my line idiot." She scowled. "You weren't in your room. I was looking for you everywhere."

"I was visiting my mom. Things have gotten really busy since Aizen was defeated. I never got a chance to see her until now."

Rukia's face softened. A lot of things were destroyed during the war, so Ichigo agreed to help out fix the Soul Society.

"Your mother must have been a kind, wonderful person. You must have loved her a lot." She said softly.

"Yes, she was… She was really important to me. No matter how bad I felt or what mood I was in, whenever I saw her face, she always made me smile. Even during the worst times…" Ichigo said looking at the ground. "She made everyone so happy. Then, I ended up taking that away from everyone…" Ichigo's hands balled up into fists. Suddenly, he felt Rukia's hands place gently on top of his. He looked up until his amber eyes met her violet ones.

"Don't torture yourself with these memories, Ichigo. If you do not wish to speak of it, then it's fine with me." She said kindly.

"No, it's fine. It feels better when I talk about it." He took a deep breath, and continued. "Six years ago, my mom died protecting me. I was just a kid who knew nothing about spirits or hollows. Grand Fisher took form of a kid. He stood on the edge of the river. I went to go see it, but when I reached for it, he disappeared. My mom chased after me and protected me. Because of my foolish act, she died…" Ichigo's eyes were filled with sorrow. He was trying his hardest to fight back the tears that were dwelling up in his eyes.

"Something like that happened to me, except he didn't die honorably…" Rukia whispered. "He died to a self-indulgent act…"

Ichigo's head shot up to look at Rukia. "You don't need to talk about it if you don't want to."

"You shared your burdens with me, now it's my turn." She told him. "He was former lieutenant of squad 13, Shiba Kaien. He taught me my swordsmanship and helped me attain shikai. I always enjoyed being around him because he treated me like any subordinate. I wasn't getting any special treatment because I was from a noble family. I was treated normally, how I've always wanted. It was the first time after Renji left that I felt that I found a place where I belonged. But one day, a hollow named Mestacia attacked and we went to go kill it. But before our very eyes, Mestacia took possession on Kaien's body. He attacked me, but Captain Ukitake protected me and told me to run. I didn't want to but I obeyed the captain's orders. But he came after me. I… I didn't know what to do… He jumped at me and I… I… I killed him…"

Memories of Kaien flashed through Rukia's mind as she shut her eyes tight trying to forget the painful memories.

"_I am your lieutenant Shiba Kaien! Nice to meet you!"_

Tears filled up Rukia's eyes.

"_Remember that as long as you're in my division, I will stand by you even if I die."_

Her knuckles white from her hands curled up into fists so hard that she was shaking, balled up some of her dress in her hands.

"…_If you were the only person in the world, your heart would have no way of forming so it just wouldn't be anywhere."_

A tear managed to escape and rolled down her cheek.

"_Never die alone Rukia…"_

Rukia remembered Kaien's face when he told her those words.

"_Thanks to you, I can leave my heart here…"_

The memory of Kaien dying in Rukia's arms slowly faded away.

Rukia's heart sank with grief remembering all those painful memories of her former vice-captain. She felt that she couldn't hold in her tears any longer.

"Rukia, don't hold back your tears. I already know you're strong. Just let it all out." Ichigo told her softly.

Rukia did what Ichigo had told her and she let out a cry in grief. Ichigo wrapped his arms around her and whispered.

"You're not alone anymore, Rukia. I'll be here to help you shoulder your burdens." He told her. "Our memories will continue to haunt us, maybe forever. But we'll get through the rain, together."

Through her tears, she managed to talk.

"Ichigo… I'm sorry…"

"Sorry for what? I'm just helping you lessen the pain in your heart like you did with mine."

"Thank you, Ichigo…" She whispered.

"That's my line idiot." He said with a small scowl. But then his expression softened. "Thank you, Rukia…"

Rukia was able to small slightly. "That's right… We can endure the rain, together…"

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_Where you treasure is, you will also discover where your heart lies_

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**Final words: **Well, that's it! I hope you all enjoyed it! It's pretty short but I'll have longer stories later. Anyways… THANK YOU! PLEASE COMMENT AND REVIEW, ECT…


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